The Best Breakfast Casserole and Cocktail for the Holidays from Macy’s Culinary Council Cookbook

This holiday season, Macy’s team of celebrated chefs are sharing their favorite recipes in“The Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook”. Filled with pages of delicious photographs and entertaining tips, the cookbook contains recipes from each of the 13 Macy’s Culinary Council chefs, including Cat Cora, Todd English, Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck. It’s great for the holidays, but the recipes can be used all year long, anytime you entertain. It’s brimming with fabulous recipes that will wow your guests and make you family feel special. It also makes a perfect gift for the cooks and foodies in your life.

We were pleased to receive a copy of this beautiful cookbook and try out two recipes. Withbrunchas one of ourfeatured hot holiday trends this year, we selected Emeril’s Breakfast Casserole recipe. We love that this dish can be prepared the day before your party. Just pop it in the oven right before guests arrive, and a delicious aroma will fill your home so your guests know right away that you cooked something special just for them. Christmas morning is another perfect opportunity to serve this delicious one-dish wonder. We also had to try Emeril’s Sparkling Prosecco Cocktail.

To assemble the casserole: Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Fill a large pot three-fourths full of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath. Season the water with salt, add the broccoli florets, and blanch until bright green and barely tender, about 1 minute. Using a skimmer, transfer the broccoli to the ice bath to halt the cooking. When the broccoli is fully chilled, drain well, pat dry with paper towels, and set aside.

In a small sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a couple of pinches of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cooled onions, ham, Cheddar cheese, and bread cubes. Toss gently to combine, then transfer to the prepared baking dish, spreading the mixture in an even layer.

Using the same bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, chives, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper until thoroughly mixed. Pour over the broccoli mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. About 30 minutes before baking, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

To bake the casserole: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Return the casserole, uncovered, to the oven, and continue baking until the top is golden brown and puffed and the casserole is cooked through when tested with a knife, about 15 minutes longer.

Transfer the casserole to a rack and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Cut into squares to serve.

POP and POUR …

During the holiday season, there’s a lot of toasting going on and sharing of holiday cheer, so make sure you have a festive and fun drink ready for all your guests.

As you know, one of our favorite cocktails for the holidays is a Sgroppino. Well, while perusing Macy’s Culinary Council’s new holiday cookbook, we of course took notice of their Sparkling Prosecco Cocktail, they swap the vodka for Grand Marnier or another fruity liqueur and suggest some fun flavors of sorbet – yum!

Sparkling Prosecco Cocktail

Ingredients

About 1 cup mango, orange, grapefruit, or raspberry sorbet

½ cup liqueur such as Chambord, Grand Marnier, or framboise

1 (750-ml) bottle Prosecco or other sparkling wine

Direction

Using a very small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, place 1 scoop of sorbet into the bottom of each of 8 Champagne flutes. Add1 tablespoon of the liqueur to each glass, then fill the glasses with the Prosecco, dividing it evenly. Serve right away.

Serves 8

Considerate Entertaining is important all year long but especially at the holidays, so we got to thinking about guests who enjoy a non-alcoholic beverage, but would still love (and deserve) a festive drink. Here’s Elizabeth’s easy, elegant and enjoyable mocktail that can be served as an alternative to the Sparkling Prosecco Cocktail (no one will be able to tell the difference!)

Elizabeth’s Merry Mocktail

Ingredients

1 pint raspberry sorbet

1 750 ml bottle sparkling cider

Instructions

Using a 1 ½” melon baller/ice cream scoop, place a scoop of sorbet in the bottom of each glass. Fill each glass ¾ with sparkling cider.

6 Responses to The Best Breakfast Casserole and Cocktail for the Holidays from Macy’s Culinary Council Cookbook

[...] I served up BLTA sandwiches ( BLT w/ avacado) , Turkey with brie and avacado as well as homemade donuts with caramel dipping sauce and chocolate cherry mini-cakes. We all toasted the Birthday girls with Elizabeth’s Merry Mocktail! [...]

Now available in Spanish!

Party Bluprints On The TODAY SHOW

DISCLOSURE:Party Bluprints Inc. may have a direct relationship with the brands, associated in topic or product that is mentioned herein. Unless specified it is not a Paid Advertisement. Typically Product has been given, a service has been provided or a visit to a location has been set up by the company to get our honest opinion. All opinions are our own.PRIVACY POLICY>